Organizing Your Classroom: What to Save and What to Throw Away

So as a special education teacher, I feel like I am constantly surrounded by paperwork and junk.  I have piles and piles of paperwork waiting to be filed, manipulatives that I’ve never used, and enough pens and pencils to supply a small army.  This year I am trying to be better about de-cluttering my house and my office.  Maybe I’ll share an article about de-cluttering my house another time.

Here are some tips for what to save and what to part ways with.

Save: Testing Information

For this category, it is important to know your state laws and your district’s procedures.  But personally, I save my testing protocols for 7 years and then shred them.  Since I haven’t been working for seven years yet, I haven’t actually shredded any yet, but this is the rules based on my special education director and the state and federal laws that I fall under.

I keep them tucked away where they are not something I am constantly stumbling upon and they don’t bother me.  I have a drawer in one of my filing cabinets and I keep all of my old testing protocols organized by year.

Throw Away: Student Information from Previous School Years

First of all a disclosure when I get rid of student info I always shred it.  But, at the end of the year, I box everything up that the following years’ teachers may need and I pass it along.  Anything else that I have, work samples, notes, etc.  can be rid of.  The only exception to this is if I need something as data for my teacher evaluation because those span two years.  But those things I file, save somewhere safe, back up the file to my Google Drive, and dispose of the hard copies.

Save: HR Paperwork

I save all the paperwork that I am given from the central office and human resources.  If I am appointed to a stipend position, I save the letter.  I save timecards that I’ve had to pass in.  I save anything that I may need to re-certify.  Anything that I may need later to prove something that I was told or appointed for just in case there is ever a discrepancy in my paycheck.

Throw Away: Handouts from Old Curriculum

I had a paraprofessional retire.  When she retired she told me so graciously that I could have everything in her filing cabinets.  When I went into her filing cabinets, she had multiple copies of every study guide and worksheet she had ever used dating back years.

I started the project of cleaning out her things thinking I had found a gold mine.  In the end, I realized that there was very little in there that was still relevant to the current curriculum.

Save: Evaluation Paperwork

Massachusetts has an annual teacher evaluation program.  I save all information relating to this.  In the past three years, we have switched computer software for this three times.  Each time we lose everything that has been uploaded into the system.  Because of this, I save hard copies of all of this information just in case I have to prove that I have completed all of my professional requirements.

Throw Away: OLD PENS AND MARKERS!

This one is in caps because this one is hard for me.  I have a whole drawer of pens and I recently realized that I never use them.  Instead, I keep buying new ones!  Why!?  At the end of the year last year I went through every single pen and marker, I tested each one, and when I was done I threw out anyone that was even partially dried up.  A dead pen is not going to come back and it is time to part ways!

Also, Check Out:

How to Get Control of Your Classroom

What’s in my Teacher Bag